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Appleton Estate 21 Year Limited Edition
Distiller Score 95
The nose yields a heavy dose of oak that blends effortlessly with caramel, melted brown sugar, vanilla and Appleton's signature flamed orange note. There is virtually no astringency. The rum enters with moderate heat, and as the oaky base coats the tongue, an undercurrent of sweetness comes in to round things out. Another sip and the oak is still persistent, but now there is also milk chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, and allspice. Woven throughout the spices and treats from the bakery is a hint of citrus, dark cherries, and a bit of almond and walnut. The finish is long and complex with oaky tannins lingering as the fruity esters fade.
Reviewed by Josh Miller
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Caroni 16 Year Cask Collection (A.D. Rattray)
Distiller Score 93
This is a no holds barred, heavyweight rum. The color is a deep amber, and the nose is redolent of leather, tobacco, and a sweet, diesel-like funk similar to St. Lucian rums. It’s hard to believe this came from a column-still. The first sip explodes with full-bodied, oily, smoky flavor-- the rum equivalent of a super-peaty Scotch. There’s no middle ground – you’ll either love or hate this rum. The finish is ridiculously long-- several orders of magnitude longer than your average spirit.
Reviewed by Matt Pietrek
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Ron Abuelo Centuria
Distiller Score 94
The immensely appealing nose combines vanilla and molasses with chocolate and coffee. The palate, rich with syrupy cane, avoids any cloying aspects by virtue of its lively, berry-like fruit, mulled cider, baked pear and tobacco notes--many of which continue into a lingering, smoldering finish.
Reviewed by Ron Bechtol
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St Lucia Rum 11 Year (Berry Bros. & Rudd)
Distiller Score 86
Strong, surprising, and complex aromas of Key lime, spearmint, and menthol. In the glass, there's a blast of more cool mint and eucalyptus. Additional sips reveal some subtle citrus fruit juices, particularly lemon and lime. The finish is long and cool, with some sweet apple and more menthol. A rum for those seeking a spirit completely out of the ordinary.
Reviewed by Paul Belbusti
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Foursquare Nobiliary
Distiller Score 96
Nobiliary is brown in color with very plummy, raisiny aromas, as well as some hints of warm vanilla and brown sugar. The influence of the bourbon casks is noticeable. Flavorwise, there's quite a lot of baking spice up front—think clove, cinnamon and cardamom. That's followed by rich stone fruit, grilled pineapple and coconut, bananas foster and a hint of pecan. The finish is mildly tingly and lingers for quite some time. This delightfully rich and complex rum gets better with each sip!
Reviewed by Anna Archibald
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Foursquare 2008
Distiller Score 92
Look for intense aromas of prunes, dried cherries, maple syrup and burnt sugar with more subtle notes of roasted banana. This rum is buttery on the palate, with an interesting complexity and rich fruit flavor of dark berries, vanilla, praline, cinnamon spice and black pepper. There's quite a long fade, with savory qualities coming through. Savor it a while and notice how the flavor evolves over time.
Reviewed by Anna Archibald
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Foursquare Sagacity
Distiller Score 90
Look for ripe banana, vanilla, deliciously stewed berries and oak on the nose of this amber-brown hued rum. On the palate it's quite zesty, with prominent, balanced notes of grapefruit rind, ginger and oak tannins. There's a long-lasting, tingly finish.
Reviewed by Anna Archibald
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Appleton Estate 15 Year Black River Casks
Distiller Score 94
The nose is a gorgeous funk, with herbal aromas of fresh sage, tarragon, bayleaf, coffee and honeycomb. On the palate, there is burnt sugar and coffee (or coffee flavored crème brulée), with orange zest and sweet spices. It's somehow a bit less herbaceous on the palate than it is in the nose, but some of that fresh herbal quality is definitely there in the back palate, along with some more of that earthy funk. The rum finishes clean, balanced and spicy, with just a bit of heat.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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Ron Barceló Premium Imperial Blend 30 Aniversario
Distiller Score 96
The aroma of the rum is rich and complex with notes of caramel, sweet raisin, vanilla, nutmeg, coffee, tobacco leaf, and oak. The palate shows a caramel-mocha-toffee swirl combination. As this fades notes of roasted almonds, dark chocolate, nutmeg, orange peel, and cherry appear. As the fruit flavors fade there is a hint of black pepper as the rum flavors transition into a nice long oak tannin filled finish.
Reviewed by Paul Senft
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Old New Orleans King Creole 20th Anniversary Blend
Distiller Score 91
An aromatically restrained and sophisticated rum that keeps me returning to the glass for another go at the intriguing aromas. Extremely pleasant and complex aromatics of earth and sugar in the form of caramel apples and maple and roast meat, with visions of a smokey sugarcane field thrown in for good measure. Brown sugar and cinnamon start on the nose and continue on the palate with honey notes continuing for a long sweet finish. Extremely pleasant from start to finish. Drink anyway you like.
Reviewed by Kelley Slagle
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English Harbour Reserve 10 Year Rum
Distiller Score 92
The nose offers tropical fruit, coconut and allspice as well as molasses and caramelized sugar. On the viscous palate, there are notes of vanilla, baked apple, citrus, coffee and oak. The warm and spicy finish offers caramel, cinnamon, honey and charred oak with hints of tobacco notes.
Reviewed by Daniel Djang
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Mount Gay 1703 Master Select Rum
Distiller Score 95
This complex rum provides three distinct layers with its flavor profile. The top layer provides the caramelized banana and char notes from the aroma transmuting into a banana foster flavor. This smokey sweet flavor swirls with the mid-line notes of honeyed pineapple, dried apricot, clove, cocoa, and cinnamon. Lastly, the foundation of the rum is grounded in earthy mineral notes, black pepper, tobacco, and just a hint of dried leather.
Reviewed by Paul Senft